Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

The sound of rolling wheels on concrete echoed throughout Joannes Park Friday afternoon and well into the early evening.

Forty skateboarders ages 13 to 20 gathered at the park’s skating rink to participate in Go Skateboarding Day, an annual event that promotes and celebrates skateboarding.

The holiday is officially observed on June 21.

“For a skateboarder, every day is a skate day,” said Sean Tauscher, manager of local skate shop Surfin Bird who judged skating tricks at the event. “Go Skateboarding Day is a day when we can express our love for the sport.”

Each competitor was given 10 minutes to perform as many tricks as possible. After all the contestants had finished, Tauscher chose the winners.

“I picked the best three people who did the best and landed the most,” he said. Surfin Bird donated skateboards, clothing and stickers for the winners and event participants.

Jerome Kaquatosh, 19, of Green Bay, was one of the winners. He performed tricks on the park’s “pyramid,” or a cement ramp that juts out of the ground.

“I come to the skate park as much as I can,” Kaquatosh said. “It keeps kids out of the streets.”

Tauscher agreed that a location such as Joannes Park, 205 S. Baird St., offers a safe place for kids to spend time doing something they love.

“A lot of kids could be into a lot of bad stuff,” he said. “It keeps them out of trouble and it keeps them focused.”